Submitted by the City of Evanston
The City of Evanston’s Parks and Recreation Department has announced that Evanston’s public swimming beaches will open Saturday, May 27.
To ensure all community members can access and enjoy Evanston public swimming beaches, the city will provide free season beach passes to Evanston residents. Community members can pick up passes for their household with proof of residency (from zip codes 60201 and 60202). Beach passes will be available at the Robert Crown Community Center, Levy Senior Center, Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, Ecology Center and Chandler-Newberger Community Center during their normal office hours. Passes will not be available at the Morton Civic Center.
Beach passes/daily tickets are mandatory
New for summer 2023, all beach patrons must present a season beach pass or daily ticket to enter the beach. IDs will not be accepted at beach entrances. Proof of residency for each person in a household is required to obtain a beach pass. No pass is required for children under the age of 1.
Acceptable forms of identification to receive a beach pass:
- Driver’s License or state ID
- Mortgage
- Title or lease agreement. If sharing a lease agreement, a second form of ID with the Evanston address is required.
- Utility bill
- Tax Return
- Voter registration card
- Vehicle registration
- Northwestern University student ID
- District 65 free or reduced lunch letter
Children will need to show a current report card, school picture ID, birth certificate, parent insurance card listing dependents, tax return document or other form of ID a parent may have that proves Evanston residency.
Non-Evanston resident beach access
Non-Evanston residents must purchase a season beach pass or daily beach ticket to access Evanston swimming beaches.
Season beach passes
Season beach passes can be purchased at any of the community centers listed above during their office hours or in-person beginning Saturday, May 27 at the Dempster Street Beach office between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Daily beach tickets
Beginning May 27, daily beach tickets can be purchased via the Viply app, an authorized mobile beach pass vendor of Evanston beaches. The Viply app can be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. After creating an account in the app, users should select “City of Evanston” and then select the amount of daily beach tickets to be purchased. Mobile beach tickets can be redeemed by scanning in at beach entrances. Daily beach tickets may also be purchased in-person at the Dempster Street and Clark Street Beach offices during office hours during the beach season.
Discounted for Skokie residents
Daily beach ticket prices are $10 per person for Skokie residents and $12 per person for non-Skokie residents. Children under the age of one may enter beaches for free. Season passes will be sold at the discounted rates listed below for Skokie residents.
| Residency | Price | Purchase Date Range |
| Skokie Resident | $35 | April 17 – June 9 |
| $43 | June 10 – July 31 | |
| $24 | August 1 – September 4 | |
| Non-Skokie Resident | $60 | April 17 – June 9 |
| $81 | June 10 – July 31 | |
| $41 | August 1 – September 4 |
A season beach pass is valid from the time of purchase through Labor Day, Monday, September 4.
Help support free access to Evanston beaches by donating to the City’s Beach Operations Fund. With the elimination of daily and seasonal beach admission fees for residents, your contribution will help fund beach operations and ensure Evanston beaches remain clean, safe and accessible.
For more information about Evanston beaches, visit cityofevanston.org/beaches or call/text 847-448-4311. For convenience, residents can simply dial 311 while in Evanston.